The Last Dance
by Thing2BK
Summary: After being dragged to Austria's Christmas party, Prussia decides to make the best of it by doing what he does best. Of course, with the help of his oldest acomplice. Oneshot PruHun


Gilbert scowled as Ludwig brushed something or other off of his shoulder again. How damn perfect did a jacket have to be? He'd more likely than not end up tearing it off as soon as they walked inside the building, but no! His little brother had to go OCD on him, on top of dragging him over to the stuffy party that stuffy Austria was stuffily throwing. "I don't see why _I_ have to be here too." He grumbled. "He _always_ makes a point of not inviting me to these things because I'm not a country anymore."

"Because, _bruder_, last time I left you home alone, you and your bird almost burned the house down."

"Aw c'mon West! We were hungry, and it was cold outside! How was I supposed to know that the marshmallows would catch on fire if I held them over the burner?"

"You should've made something else then. Something less flammable."

"West, you're still a kid, so I wouldn't expect you to understand. But I have a _man's_ stomach. And when a _man's _stomach demands marshmallows, he does not resist. You'll learn that when you grow up."

For once, Germany decided to keep quiet about how much taller he was than his older brother. The party was punishment enough; there was no sense in making it worse.

Roderick's house was brightly lit compared to the murky skies. While it was far enough from the cities that the stars were usually out, that particular night was veiled with thin clouds that threatened snow. Every year, either Austria or France hosted a large Christmas party for all of the nations. The only difference was that France's were extravagant, and beautiful in both décor and food, while Roderick's usually ended up being a potluck in the main hall of his house.

As they approached the front door, Gilbert couldn't help but scoff a bit at the decorations, which looked no different than they had centuries ago. Just as worn and tacky as ever.

But the interior was clean, and bright, as the Austrian would never let a speck of dust past his gaze. The ivory-tiled floors mirrored every movement in the room, and the wooden staircases shone. He was almost as bad as Ludwig when it came to cleanliness. Obviously the German had to have gotten the need to clean from somewhere. He definitely hadn't gotten it from his older brother.

"Ludwig! I'm glad you could make it." Speak of the bespeckled devil. Gilbert couldn't help but notice that he was removed from the greeting. How the hell could people go more than a few hours without his awesome name gracing their lips? "I hope you enjoy yourself."

"Pfft! Why so stiff Roddy? It's Christmas! You should be hammered already!"

"Please stop that brat from doing as such, would you Ludwig?"

As Germany nodded, Gilbert took that as his ticket to run. There were nations scattered everywhere around the room, in suits like his own that had been forced on him by his brother, or the more elegant dresses that the female nations sported proudly. But although he could almost count the dresses he could see in the room on one hand, there was one that the Prussian didn't see, which surprised him.

"Isn't Lizzie normally the first one to show up to Roddy's parties?" He mumbled aloud, attempting a head count again. Ukraine was sitting at one of the tables, talking animatedly with Latvia. Belarus was attempting to drag her brother over to the dance floor, where Seychelles was already dancing merrily with France. Liechtenstein stood quietly beside her brother, and Taiwan and Vietnam had just walked past him, laughing about something girly that he didn't understand or even care to. And Belgium was heading to the dance floor with Spain. But there was no sign of Hungary anywhere amongst the suits.

"Looking for someone special?" Someone teased lightly from behind him. He turned around to see Canada behind him, and jumped nearly a mile.

"Shit Mattie! Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I've been standing here the whole time."

"Oh. Well then stop being so quiet! It's not good for you! But it's okay now 'cause you're here with the awesome me and-"

"So Miss Elizaveta isn't here yet?"

"Yeah, but it's not like I wanted to see her at all! She's almost as stuck up as that boring ass Roddy. Why'd anyone want to see _her_?"

"Don't you know it's rude to talk about people like that behind their backs Gilbert?" The albino froze with a comical look of horror flashing across his face. Elizaveta was standing behind him with a too-big smile on her face for someone who'd just found out they were being gossiped about.

"Oh like that's the worst anyone's ever said about you Liz! You should've heard the stuff that was flying around after your wedding!"

The smile vanished almost instantly. "You shut your mouth Beilschmidt!"

"I think gold-digger was thrown into most conversations for awhile afterwards."

There was a low snarl, followed by the Hungarian letting one gloved hand fly, and slap Gilbert across the face. "Keep your nose out of other people's business!"

Somewhere during their yelling, Canada had disappeared again, and they were alone by the table.

"Yeah well, it's old news I guess." Gilbert muttered, in a weak attempt to avoid getting slapped again. "You divorced awhile ago anyway. Sorry."

Elizaveta sighed, and adjusted her glove. "It's alright. Just… shut up, okay? Just because you're pissy that Roderick didn't invite you doesn't mean you can be even worse than usual."

"Deal. Hey! You wanna go see what we can screw around with? I'll bet there's someone begging to be wrapped up in garland!"

"Oh where's your creative spirit? We did that when we were kids! That's like wearing a mistletoe headband in terms of creativity."

"Hey! Don't knock the headband. It's still a classic. But if you're going to be picky, how about…" He let his red gaze sweep the room in search of some source of entertainment, and locked on the large fir tree in the middle of the hall. The presents from Finland were all neatly stacked and labeled to be opened at midnight. "Do you see this Lizzie?"

She followed his gaze, and grinned. "Oh I see it. C'mon, we'll dance across the room. That way no one will get suspicious."

"Well then?" Gilbert offered a hand in a mock-noble fashion, which Elizaveta accepted with the same air.

The dance floor was comfortably full. Not crowded, but not bare either, and the pair swept along easily towards the tree. Despite whatever he said, Gilbert was a fair dancer. After all, he'd had to learn for the odd military dance, here and there, being a high political figure. Elizaveta too was good, though she still wasn't used to following a lead, even after centuries of it.

"So what do we do with the presents once we're there?"

"Change the tags." He replied, his voice turning upwards in a _duh _sort of tone. "Like give Liechtenstein's present to West." He laughed at his own cunning. "That'll be a riot."

"So what about ours? It'll look suspicious if we still get the right ones, and I don't think I want America's present."

"Well…" He let the brunette spin once, before turning to avoid Spain and Belgium. "It's not like they won't get switched back once everyone starts realizing that there's a mix-up. But how about you get Japan's? I'll bet it's something you'd both enjoy."

They finally came to a stop in front of the tree, and Elizaveta pulled Gilbert by the wrist to the other side so they could work without interruption. "So do you think Arthur would appreciate the latest cologne from France?" Elizaveta asked with a giggle.

"About as much as Lovino's going to enjoy a new video game for a console he doesn't even own." The albino replied as he carefully pulled the tag from America's present. "We should go out and dance for another song. West might get suspicious if we're gone for too long."

"We've only been at this for a couple of minutes."

"Yeah, but West knows that's plenty of time for me to make this party more awesome."

"Right." Elizaveta got to her feet, and dusted off the front of her dark blue gown. It was more for show than to actually clean it off. No way there would be any dust brave enough to settle even in this remote corner of the hall on Austria's watch. "And then we get to decide which lucky winner gets Poland's present."

"You really are an evil woman." Gilbert sighed affectionately.

They danced together for two more songs, and then prepared to duck back behind the tree, when someone clapped Gilbert on the shoulder. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind lending me Elizaveta's hand for a dance, would you?"

He was _this_ close to whirling around, and decking Roderick. The Austrian probably knew exactly where they were going, too. But he didn't. Instead, he offered a wide smirk, and nodded. "Glad to see you're actually chasing skirts tonight Roddy. And here I was worrying that you were done playing for that team."

The Austrian flushed darkly, and glared daggers at the smaller man, before taking Elizaveta's hand, and leading her further into the crowds. As they disappeared, the grin slid from Gilbert's face, and he turned back to the tree. It just wouldn't be as fun without Lizzie. They'd always done their pranks together, ever since they were kids. There was never Gilbert dumping ice cold water on everyone who walked into Fritz's castle without Elizaveta helping him heave the bucket. Elizaveta was never caught hammering the skirts of noblewomen to the floors and chairs without Gilbert handing her nails.

They were one in the same, two peas in a pod, worst enemies, best friends, maybe more. And then there was Roderick, who always swept her away to some fancy dream, only to leave her again.

It really pissed him off. But he kept staying still in front of the tree, waiting for their return. He always ended up waiting.

He caught sight of the pair spinning around on the dance-floor. Roderick was leading smoothly, as they were talking, still without missing a beat of the dance. Every so often, they would fall silent, and Elizaveta would glance over at Gilbert. He couldn't tell if the look she flashed him was a 'just a few more minutes' or 'you go on ahead, I'm having more fun here.' Either way, he remained stubbornly in place.

The song slowed to an end, and Elizaveta gave a quick curtsey, and hurried over to Gilbert. "Let's go." She breathed, rushing past him to the tree, where they continued their fun.

He gave Poland's present to Roderick. There really was no question about it anymore.

{}}{{}

At 11:55, Gilbert was practically bouncing in his seat, excited for everyone's reactions when they opened their presents. He knew that both his brother and their host were suspicious about what was to come. After all, he'd been quiet all night. And that just made the anticipation all the better. Dining tables were cleared away while the loud chattering faded into a low murmur, and the clock slowly ticked towards midnight.

"Gil, if you don't stop grinning like that, everyone's going to figure it was you before they even know what we did."

"C'mon Lizzie! Don't be a killjoy! This is going to be so awesome! Gilbird's going to regret not coming!"

"Oh I'm sure." Elizaveta replied sarcastically. "When are you going to realize that he's a bird, and really doesn't care about any of your shenanigans?"

The Prussian looked genuinely hurt. "Gilbird's my best buddy in the whole world! He always cares about what I'm up too, and that's what makes him so awesome!"

"Okay, okay. Gilbird will be more than happy to hear about the party. Just stop looking like you're about to cry."

Gilbert opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by Roderick approaching the tree, and stopping in front of it. "We should begin the gift exchange now, as midnight is upon us."

"Geez, Christmas Eve, and he still managed to sound like an obnoxious prick."

"Don't worry. See how he just tripped on the chair right there?" Gilbert's only reply was a low chuckle at the sight. "He's had a couple glasses of wine. It should get interesting soon enough."

"You know, for once, I think I was just happy that you married him."

"For once? I thought the day of the wedding, you told me 'congrats. I'm really happy you're marrying someone you love, and it's not entirely political bull.'"

"Don't you understand sarcasm when you hear it?"

Elizaveta looked with a start at Gilbert as the words left his mouth. "So you really weren't happy about it?"

The albino suddenly went faintly pink, as if realizing what he'd just said, but just decided against denying it. "I was happy that you were happy, but not that it involved Roderick. I just always thought that you had better taste than that."

With a little smile, she leaned forward to kiss his cheek softly. "Thanks for your support anyway. I'll make sure to pick them better in the future."

"Pick them more _awesome_, you mean?"

Elizaveta then noticed the sprig of leaves dangling in front of Gilbert's face by a long spring, and was ready to slap him again before getting a good look at the hopefulness gleaming in his expression.

"Yes, definitely more awesome. Awesome enough to know when not to use mistletoe like a child."

"I keep telling you Lizzie. It's a classic."

The shouts of surprise, and rage as the other nations opened their gifts made the perfect backdrop to their kiss.

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Thanks for reading~!

And Merry belated Christmas guys! This was supposed to be put out on Christmas day, but between the stress of the holidays, my laptop crashing, and my cat dying on Christmas Eve, can I be forgiven for being a couple days late?

As always, please review, and I hope you enjoy it!


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